Mexican immigration to the United States: Continuities and changes

This research note examines continuities and changes in the profile of Mexi can migration to the United States using data from Mexico's Encuesta Nacion al de la Dinamica Demografica, the U.S. Census, and the Mexican Migration P roject. Our analysis generally yields a picture of stability over time. Mex ico-U.S, migration continues to be dominated by the states of Western Mexic o, particularly Guanajuato, Jalisco, and Michoacan, and it remains a moveme nt principally of males of labor-force age. As Mexico has urbanized, howeve r, out-migration has come to embrace urban as well as rural workers; and as migrant networks have expanded, the flow has become less selective with re spect to education. Perhaps the most important change detected was an accel eration in the rate of return migration during the early 1990s, reflecting the massive legalization of the late 1980s.